


Eye of Devastation

by Peach_Pit



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: M/M, Short, Tenderness, Vague Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-27
Updated: 2018-02-27
Packaged: 2019-03-24 15:51:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 744
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13814436
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Peach_Pit/pseuds/Peach_Pit
Summary: When he put on the Ring, he didn’t struggle. He didn’t hurt. A certain completion filled him, a certainty that he’d avoided for too long.Yet, what rose in Noctis’s throat was budding horror...





	Eye of Devastation

When he put on the Ring, he didn’t struggle. He didn’t hurt. A certain  _ completion  _ filled him, a certainty that he’d avoided for too long.

Yet, what rose in Noctis’s throat was budding horror: first, at the new power flowing from his body, a power that sought any life among this cold, empty metal room to suck into a deep and ever-hungering abyss; then, at the words resounding in his mind, the gaze of the familiar man reflecting in the eye of his soul.

“I met him here not weeks ago, where you stand now,” said Regis, staring down at his son like no time at all had passed. “I left you in his care, and he...he would throw away his life, all for which he had worked in life, for you and you alone. The others would have him killed, yet I saw into his heart.”

It was hearing this that caused him to cry out, something between agony and disbelief. But it, too, subsided.

When he thought of everything everyone had been through just for his sake -- for his pathetic twenty-year life atop this great star -- he knew he alone had to do his part.

It had to be now.

He would burn a warpath to Ignis.

…

He and his abruptly separated companions met again, as if by fate, crashing through the walls that threatened to close them in. They were all still consumed by worry for Prompto. When they found him finally, sealed in the depths of the Keep, they could know peace, if only for a moment.

Prompto, exhausted from his trials, went to bed in their lonely dormitory. Gladiolus, restless, left to keep an eye out for daemons. Without them, the room went silent. Only Ignis and Noctis remained, left cold and still like a Gralean winter’s night.

Noctis could feel the crystal’s power compelling him further, almost commanding him. Its nearing pull, mixed with the feeling of pressure, a heart almost bursting from what he had been told earlier, caused a small agony that eked out through his voice.

“Everything all right, Noct?”

_ He’s kept silent about it for weeks _ , Noctis thought, fists clenching into the rough corners of his cot.  _ Just...as if it’s all normal. As if everything is fine. _

“Noct...?”

“Ignis, why didn’t you tell me?”

Something in Ignis’s expression changed. The drab room seemed to deprive his skin of color. Noctis could almost feel the worry behind those dark shades.

“I…”

“How could you, Ignis? ‘Share my burdens’? When you’ve already gone through --”

“Enough, Highness. There’s no time for this.”

“Oh yeah? When would be a good time for you, huh?  _ Never? _ ”

“Maybe when we’re not  _ under siege by darkness _ .”

Noctis bit his lip, looked away. Ignis felt his own nerves begin to unwind, a kind of exhaustion finally releasing the tension of the day.

“Noct… Please forgive me.”

“I’m not… I’m not mad at you, Iggy.”

Ignis could hear the tears in Noct’s voice. He couldn’t stifle a sniffle in this barren room.

“Noct…”

“I didn’t want you to do that for me.”

“I know.”

“I have to be strong.”

“You are, Noct.”

Rising, Ignis edged his way over to Noctis, feeling as a bare and a gloved hand helped seat him to the side. He rested a hand on the Prince’s shoulder, the other hand rising to gently rest upon his face, fingers pressing through soft hair, thumb glossing over the streak of a tear.

“You’re going to save this world. And I’m going to be right beside you when you do.”

“Iggy…”

Words reverberated in Noctis’s head:

_ “He would throw away his life for you and you alone. The others would have him killed, yet I saw into his heart.” _

Ignis was his friend, his brother. Would even a brother do that for him? Would a friend throw his life away for someone like him?

A man who single-handedly retook Altissia? A man driven to the brink by his convictions? A man who faced down Death without fear? A man who spat in the eye of fate? For... _ him? _

Another tear streaked down across Ignis’s finger, to be quickly wiped away.

That bare hand rose to gently touch the left side of Ignis’s face. Ignis flinched, though not from pain. Slowly, tenderly, Ignis placed his palm over Noctis’s hand, shaking his head gently and smiling.

“I’m proud of you, Noct. We’re finally going to put an end to all this.”

**Author's Note:**

> I'm doing some short stories based on the situational prompts over at [Ingoct Week](https://ignoctweek.tumblr.com)! These are being cross-posted from my public tumblr. A future prompt, "Mutual Confession", is going to be a different take on this.
> 
> Please also visit my [other tumblr](https://lil-peach-pit.tumblr.com) for fun (R18 only) things.


End file.
